Home>
Ministries>
The Pastor Nathaniel's Blog>
The Pastor's Blog Archives>
Pastor's Blog Archives 2021>
Pastor's Blog October 14, 2021
"View of God in Romans XXXII"#
{Scroll over scripture reference to read the scripture or reference.
Did you know you can hurt others by what you eat? Paul says in Romans 14:15, "For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died" (NASB).
The big issue Paul has been discussing in Romans 14 is whether or not to eat food offered to idols (a second, minor issue has been the observance of certain feast days). So when Paul is talking about not hurting others with the food you eat, contextually he is talking more about the idols to whom the food (specifically meat) was offered rather than the kind of food consumed. But in Romans 14:15, Paul states most explicitly what he has been hinting at throughout this chapter: followers of Jesus cannot insist on doing things their own way, but must instead think about how their words or actions will impact the faith of other believers.
And this position demonstrates why this verse is so hard for us Christians to accept. It is natural to insist on "doing your own thing, live and let live." It makes sense to try to stand up for your own opinions, values, and positions no matter what. This stance can feel especially necessary to adopt if the people we're interacting with are individuals who we feel don't believe the right things, live the right way, or are a danger to us or the church. "Why should we accommodate ourselves to the immature, uninformed, or erroneous views and beliefs of others?," the question is often asked.
Nevertheless, notice what Paul says we clearly know and the reason why we know it. It is completely evident that we are not walking according to love when we hurt others with food.
But how do we know this? Because Jesus died for those people whom we are hurting. In fact, they are described as belonging to Jesus: "him [literally 'that person'] for whom Christ died." Since God has shown us that Jesus lovingly died for everyone and that everyone belongs to him, it is also evident that hurting others by failing to take into consideration where they are on their faith journey is not imitative of the love Jesus showed us at the cross.
Friends, Jesus is encouraging us to find ways to love each other today, instead of hurt each other.
.
God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
